Advocacy

Child Advocacy is a fundamental aspect of our program as we serve a diverse community of patients, many of low socioeconomic status and with poor access to health care. Residents rotate through a Community Health and Advocacy Pediatric month during their first or second year.  The goal of the rotation is to improve child health outcomes in the Houston area by increasing pediatric resident physicians’ understanding of the social determinants of health, providing ways that they can get involved in partnerships with local organizations, and giving them the tools to advocate for their patients on local, state, and national levels.  There are also annual opportunities for residents to attend the Texas Pediatric Society Advocacy day and AAP national conferences to learn about advocacy at the state and national levels.

There is a dedicated Advocacy Track where residents develop and implement an advocacy project. If interested, residents are able to participate in a month of advocacy in Austin, TX. 

For residents interested in advocacy, but do not want to participate in a track there are Advocacy Days and electives available. Each year, we send a group of residents to the Texas State Capitol to participate in the Texas Pediatric Society Advocacy day.